Make Your Own Games

Bible games can be expensive. Here are some that you can make for yourselves, and some that don’t need any preparation at all.

Karen Holford is a grandma to Zara (8), Leo (6), and Max (4). She loves playing games with them, especially games that help them to learn more about God.

BIBLE GAMES CAN BE EXPENSIVE. Here are some that you can make for yourselves, and some that don’t need any preparation at all.

 

BAG OF BIBLE BITS

Find a medium-sized bag and fill it with objects from Bible stories, such as a stone, a plastic fish, a stick, a glass droplet or gem to represent water, a pearl bead, a coin, a star shape, a piece of white cloth, an angel drawing, a small bottle of perfume, a piece of bread, a small basket, something gold, a toy sheep, bird, tree, or boat, etc. Take turns pulling something from the bag and then naming a Bible story that includes the object. If the object is chosen again, the player has to name a different Bible story. Collect one point for every Bible story named. You can also play cooperatively by choosing an object and working together to list as many Bible stories as possible.

 

STORY SCAVENGER

Choose a Bible story and read it together. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Race with your family to see how many objects (or pictures of objects) mentioned in the story you can find in and around your home.

CREATIVE PROVERBS

Choose a chapter from the book of Proverbs. Choose one of the chapters in which each verse is a different proverb. Ask each person to choose a proverb from the chapter 
without telling anyone else which verse they have chosen and then find their own way of illustrating it. You can mime the proverb, arrange a collection of objects to illustrate  it, draw a picture or comic strip, rewrite the verse in modern language, turn it into a poem, etc. After 10 minutes, show what you’ve created and see who can guess which verse you’re each illustrating. Talk about how the wisdom in these verses can help us in our lives today.

NAME CUBES

Find or cut six blank wooden cubes. You can buy wooden cubes in craft stores or cut your own. Use a fine permanent marker to write one letter on each side of the cubes. (See below for the letters to write on each cube.)  Turn and rearrange 3 to 6 of the cubes until you can spell the name of a person in the Bible. Write the name on a sheet of paper and see if you can find more than 100 names. Include the Bible reference for the verse where you found each name. Make sets of the cubes, give them to your
friends at church, and see who can find the most names.


Cube 1: J – A – D – E – S – N
Cube 2: M – O – R – G – I – T
Cube 3: E – H – A – L – B – K
Cube 4: A – U – E – V – Z – M
Cube 5: P – L – N – C – O – R
Cube 6: D – H – S – P – I – T

 

CREATIVE BIBLE CHALLENGE

Gather lots of different craft supplies in a large box. Take a stack of index cards and write a different creative Bible challenge on each card. Here are some ideas to get you
started. You and your family can add as many as you like:


• Make a thank-you card from Adam and Eve to God, thanking Him for making the Garden of Eden for them to live in.
• Design a dress for Esther to wear when she goes to invite the king to her dinner party.
• Imagine what your room will look like in heaven and make a model of it.
• Imagine what it looked like inside the ark. How would you design the space so that every animal could live safely and it would be easy for Noah and his family to care for all
the creatures?
• Design an award for one of your Bible heroes.
• Create a special reminder for your family that will encourage them to make Sabbath a delight for each person in your home.
• Choose a favorite Bible verse and find a creative way to illustrate it.
• Choose a favorite story from the Bible. Make and write your own mini storybook.
• Design a coat of many colors for Joseph to wear.
• Imagine you could design a flower or animal for God to create. What would it look like?
• Create a scene from your favorite Bible story.
• Make a comic-strip style story about your favorite Bible character.


Add more challenge cards whenever you have a new idea. Work on the creative challenges on your own or as a family. Keep looking for interesting craft materials to add to your box.


NAME CHAIN

Sit in a circle and ask the youngest person to name a character in the Bible. The next person has to name someone whose name begins with the last letter of the first Bible
name called out: SaraH – HamaN – NabaL – LukE – ElizabetH – HeroD – etc. Take turns around the circle, naming characters in this way. No name can be used more than  once. See how long you can make the chain before you run out of new names to add.

BIBLE LIBRARY

Take 66 blank index cards and write the name of each book of the Bible on a separate card. Write the books of the Old Testament in blue and the books of the New Testament in red so you can easily separate them.

ONE-PLAYER CHALLENGE:
See how quickly you can arrange the 66 cards in the correct order. Once you have finished, use your Bible to check that you have put everything in the right place. Start by using just the New Testament cards.

SERIOUS CHALLENGE:
Deal 6 cards to each player. Don’t let anyone see your cards. Without speaking to each other, place the cards face up on a stack in the middle of the table in the correct
order. Remember that your group doesn’t have all the books, so the names will not be placed one after the other as they are in the Bible. You have to look at each other
carefully to guess who might have the card with the next available book in the sequence. For example, you start the game, and no one has Genesis. When no one rushes
to put down Genesis, you wonder who has the next card. So you look around the group to see if anyone else looks eager to put down a card. You have Deuteronomy, but you need to wait and see if anyone puts down Exodus, Leviticus, or Numbers. If you put your card down too fast and someone has a previous card, then you need to reshuffle, deal, and start the game again. Each person has to be ready with their cards and judge the best time to place their card on the stack because no one knows which cards have been dealt and who has them. You are all working silently together to complete the task of placing all the cards in your hands on the stack in the correct  sequence, even though you will not have every card. You can also change the number of cards each person is given.

FAMILY CHALLENGE:
Shuffle the cards and share them equally between players. You might like to use just the Old Testament or New Testament cards to start with. Time yourself to see how quickly you can place your cards in the correct order, one book at a time.

BONUS ACTIVITY: 

Invite each person to choose a card with a Bible book written on it. Provide marker pens and ask them to decorate the side of the card that has the name of the book
written on it with something that illustrates the name of the book, its theme, or a story in the book.

 

CHARACTER BUILDING

• Take 25 cards and write a character strength on each card: appreciating God’s creation; bravery; caution; creativity; gratitude; humility/ modesty; kindness; love; social
responsibility; enjoyment of learning; perseverance; forgiveness; curiosity; self-control; teamwork; wisdom; honesty; social intelligence; fairness/justice; hopefulness; sense of humor; leadership skills; enthusiasm; spirituality; compassion/empathy.
• Stack the cards facedown.
• Turn over the top card. Roll a dice and follow the instructions below.


1 – Name a Bible character who showed this character strength.
2 – Find a Bible verse about this character strength.
3 – Tell how you have shown this character strength in your own life in the past week, or how you want to practice it in the week to come.
4 – Tell someone in the group when you saw them practice this character strength.
5 – Describe a time when Jesus used this character strength.
6 – Explain why this character strength is important to grow in your life.


Use this game to inspire your family to grow more like Jesus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karen Holford is a grandma to Zara (8), Leo (6), and Max (4). She loves playing games with them, especially games that help them to learn more about God.